Clean Water

Drink Verona's tap water
with confidence

Verona
produces 15 million gallons of
water per month and has produced more than a billion gallons to date.
Our Annual
Water Quality Report and more than 1,000 water test show that we can drink our tap water with confidence. Enjoy Verona’s good quality municipal water. This is something we can
all drink to!

An
Australian town just banned bottled water, saving $2.5
million per year. In the U.S., first San Francisco banned it, then
Chicago started taxing it and the city of Seattle signed an executive
order to stop the city from buying it. It'll make a big difference; in
2007 that city spent $58,000 on the stuff (not including the carbon
footprint of bottled water). The move is also a strong vote of
confidence in the city's municipal tap water supply and treatment systems.
It's good to see cities standing behind its tap water and encouraging
its employees and residents to drink up. Many more are joining them.

Where does our water come from?Currently
Verona has cut in half the amount of water purchased from the Passaic
Valley Water Commission since our hard water comes from local well
usage. In the past the town had soft water when it relied on surface
sources.

Why do we need an annual water
report?To
comply with State regulations, the Town of Verona is issuing an Annual
Water Quality Report describing the safety of your drinking water. The
purpose of this report is to raise your understanding of drinking water
and awareness of the need to protect our drinking water sources.

Are there contaminants in our
drinking water?According
to the new data Verona residents can drink tap
water with confidence. We
conducted more than 1,000 water tests for several contaminants during
2008. All contaminants such as chlorine and fluoride were
found well bellow the accepted levels set by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection.

What about lead?Laboratory
Manager Tim Newton reported that our municipal water was also tested
for copper and lead levels at 30 different sites, with such good results
that tests can be performed every three years instead of annually.

Should I take any special precautions?The
report shows higher levels of sodium; there are no adverse side effects
associated with it but those in a sodium-restricted diet should be
cautious.

Why should we save water?Although
our system has an adequate amount of water to meet present and future
demands, saving water saves energy and some of the costs
associated with it.

Conservation tips include:

Automatic dishwashers use 15 gallons for every
cycle, regardless of how many dishes are loaded. So load it to
capacity.

Turn
off the tap when brushing your teeth.

Check
every faucet in your home for leaks. Just a slow drip can waste 15 to
20 gallons a day. Fix it up and you can save almost 6,000 gallons per
year.

Check
your toilets for leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring in the
tank - watch for a few minutes to see if the color shows up in the bowl.
It is not uncommon to lose up to 100 gallons a day from one of these
otherwise invisible toilet leaks. Fix it and you save more than 30,000
gallons a year.

Drought Warning

The Township of Verona released a drought warning in 2016 and strongly encouraged all residents to eliminate unnecessary water use and is offering a limited supply of toilet leak detection tablets at the Verona Community Center, 880 Bloomfield Ave. to help residents do their part to conserve.

Water from rain and melting snow that flows over lawns, parking lots and streets is known as stormwater runoff. This water, usually untreated, flows or is discharged into local waterbodies.

Who is involved in stormwater pollution?
Stormwater picks up trash, toxins and other pollution that can kill wildlife, destroy wildlife habitat, contaminate drinking water sources and put the health of swimmers in danger. Human activity is largely responsible for stormwater pollution, each of us has a responsibility to make sure that contaminants stay out of our water.

How can I reduce stormwater pollution?
You can protect our water resources by following these tips:

Do not hose off pavement washes pollutants into storm drains; instead, sweep up dirt and debris and discard in the trash.

Avoid washing your car in your driveway, take it to a local car wash to reduce the running off of harmful pollutants.

Never throw litter, debris or cigarette butts directly into storm drains or on the streets.

Reduce, reuse and recycle materials whenever possible to create less waste, which could end up on our streets and contribute to stormwater pollution.

Ask your local representatives to enact ordinances to regulate the outdoor application of fertilizer so as to reduce the overall amount of pollutants -such as phosphorus and nitrogen- entering waterways.

Peckman River Cleanup

Verona High School students participated in the annual Peckman River
Clean-Up on May 21st. Students were assisted by VHS Vice Principal Dave
Galbierczyk, VEC Chairman Jerry Shimonaski and VHS teachers Linda
Barone, Jan Korman, Chris Tamburro and Carl Cascone. About half a ton of
metal and other debris was removed from the river. All of it was hauled
away by the Verona Public Works Department. The Passaic Valley Sewerage
Commission supplied the VEC with tools, waders, plastic bags and
gloves. READ MORE here.

The Peckman River originates in West Orange and flows northeasterly through Verona, Cedar Grove and Little Falls to its confluence with the Passaic River in the borough of Woodland Park (formerly West Paterson).

We organize an annual Peckman River Cleanup and Verona residents are always welcome to participate. Check our calendar for upcoming VEC's events.

Among pictured volunteers, from left: Jerry Shimonaski, Chairman of the VEC, Carrie Dietz, former Area 4 Watershed Ambassador and Mrs. Wojtowicz with her sons. Mr. Bill Wojtowicz is the current President of the Verona Park Conservancy. Visit the Verona Park Conservancy website to learn more about this successful non profit organization and how you can help.

During the last 2010 river clean-up Verona High School students removed about half a ton of trash. READ MORE HERE.